Friends, family from Katy area say passing came far too soon for 22-year-old set to graduate from UH

Updated 5:24 pm, Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Janeth Mireles, 22, was killed in a car crash last Friday after her vehicle was struck by a pickup truck.

Janeth Mireles, 22, was killed in a car crash last Friday after her vehicle was struck by a pickup truck.

Photo: Courtesy Of Nancy Almodova

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Mireles was on track to graduate from college this year.

Mireles was on track to graduate from college this year.

Photo: Rebecca Elliott, Nancy Almodovar

Friends and family mourn Katy woman, 22, killed in crash

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The night before she died, Janeth Mireles dressed in gold. The 22-year-old, born and raised in the Katy area, was celebrating the grand opening of the Houston-based real estate company where she worked, a kickoff that she had helped orchestrate. The event was a hit, her boss said, and Mireles did not head home until the wee hours.

At about 2 a.m. last Friday, less than two miles from her family's Katy-area home, Mireles was struck by a pickup truck. The two-vehicle accident remains under investigation, but it appeared that the Chevy Silverado ran a red light as it drove westbound on Saums Road, striking Mireles, who was northbound on Greenhouse Road, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The pickup's driver, Richard Cooper, and his passenger were both transported to the hospital, having sustained injuries. Mireles died at the scene.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Tebben Lewis said Monday that the result of Cooper's toxicology report was not yet in; no charges have been filed.

For friends and family, Mireles' passing came all too soon.

"I can't stop thinking and talking about her," said Mireles' cousin Nancy Almodovar, who was also her boss at the real estate company. "She was young, smart. I mean incredibly smart."

Mireles had recently obtained her real estate license and she was on track to graduate from the University of Houston this year with a business degree.

Almodovar recalled Mireles as an integral part of her company, "a go-getter," she said.

"I wish I had more time," Almodovar said. "I wish I could write a book about her."

Reading from a thank-you card Mireles had written to her a few days back, Almodovar recalled one of her cousin's favorite words: fabulous.

Whenever you asked Mireles how she was, Almodovar said, she would always respond, "Fabulous. I'm fabulous."

Photos on Facebook show the young woman at a Dallas Cowboys' game and a contemporary arts fair, dressed up for Halloween with her sister.